I predicted that (a) the Surge could turn the tide in Iraq because the Muslim street in Iraq was going to rise up against al-Qaeda, and (b) al-Qaeda would have to move on to some other strategy to gain political wins and continued support. This ain’t rocket science folks. al-Qaeda has screwed up royally in Iraq by being so brutal the Iraqis have taken up arms to rid them of al-Qaeda’s pestilence. We could see al-Qaeda holding back new forces for Iraq as they sent them into Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. A sign they had decided to not go all out in Iraq and would shift strategies. The UK may be part of that shift, but one only has to think like al-Qaeda to know that winning in Iraq will not end the global war on terror – not by a long shot.

al-Qaeda is clearly going to shift plans and the European Union has always been the obvious target to hit in the west. It has contiguous and leaky borders which make it easy for Islamo Fascists to move through the area. And it has allies in the Chechen regions that border Eastern Europe. And now it is becoming apparent that the radicals, fleeing Iraq, have decided to turn their sites on other targets.

Al-Qaida in Iraq is exporting terrorists to other Arabic countries and Europe, Iraqi National Security Adviser Muaffak al-Rubaie said in Rome.

This reverse migration is worrying and there are strong indications that there is a reverse migration from Iraq to the Arab world, to the Arab countries and all Europe, Rubaie said after meeting with Italian security officials.

He also said he wouldn’t be surprised if those involved in the thwarted weekend attacks in London had some connection with al-Qaida and Iraq, a Voice of America correspondent reported.

al-Qaeda is predictably brutal. If cornered it goes for the jugular. If beaten it tries to take down as many of its enemies as possible to send a signal to the rest of the movement to keep trying. Isreal and Europe are on the list of next targets for al-Qaeda. Watch Gaza and Lebonan. And watch the Palestinian Refugees finally wear out their welcome with Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia as they cover for al-Qaeda forces hell bent on toppling these moderate Arab governments.

Iraq was just one phase of a generational war – as President Bush accurately noted. Soon the Jihadis will try and the West full on. The good news is we did not allow them a resource rich base of operations from which to launch their attack on us. But they were always going to come after us. Now they are at a very weakened state and we have the opportunity to minimize the tragedy.